Digging for the Truth
by sevherfan
Summary: HermioneSnape, takes place after OOTP. The trio overhears disturbing news, and Hermione will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it. Even if the bottom of it is Professor Snape and getting there means breaking rules.
1. Default Chapter

Ron, Hermione, and Harry stood on the staircase of Grimmuld Place, craning their ears in the direction of the kitchen. Despite the events that took place at the end of the school year, Mrs.Weasley still insisted they not be allowed to hear the proceedings of the Order. It was because of this that they had taken it upon themselves to stay informed, feeling it was not only a right but a necessity. They had not discerned much, but it was not from lack of trying.  
  
"I do wish George and Fred would pop in, I bet they'd have a couple pairs of extendable ears on them..." sighed Ron.  
  
"Ron, you should know by now that the Order will have charmed the door." admonished Hermione.  
  
"Doesn't stop me from trying, they might have forgotten this time!"  
  
In response, Hermione merely let out a small, exasperated sigh.  
  
The door of the kitchen wheeled open, as if in response, black robes billowing out from it. In an instant, the three teenagers pulled back, pressing themselves as close to the wall behind them as they could.They were no longer concerned with eavesdropping, yet were too afraid creeping back up the stairs might alert someone to their presence. Other figures began emerging from the kitchen.  
  
"I came to deliver the news, and now, if you will excuse me, my dungeons await!" snapped Professor Snape.  
  
"Surely, you would like a cup of tea after the evening's events, Professor?" said Molly Weasley in a motherly tone, but the trio noticed her eyes held a look of fear.  
  
Dumbledore placed a wizened hand on the witch's shoulder, "Molly, I'm sure Severous is quite tired."  
  
The look in her eyes grew more distressed. "I just...the more people protecting Head Quarters,the safer it will be." was all the woman could choke out.  
  
"Now, Molly, you know perfectly well this place is unplottable." spoke Mr.Weasley, a kind look in his eye.  
  
"When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named gets it into his head to kill a Muggle, do you think a thing like that will stop him?" and with this, Mrs.Weasley began quietly sobbing and went back to the kitchen.  
  
"Professor, if there is nothing more to discuss, I will be returning to Hogwarts." sneered Snaped.  
  
"Ahh, Severus, I do believe that is all, I do not believe anything else needs to be said here tonight."   
  
The three teenagers on the staircase all felt as though Dumbledore was glancing in their direction as he said the words, though they couldn't see his face. Ron gulped silently at the thought, causing Hermione and Harry to throw disapproving looks his way. Wasting no time, Professor Snape threw some floo powder into the fireplace and was gone with a loud "Hogwarts!" Other members of the Order of the Phoenix filtered out of the house as well. Hermione, Ron and Harry made their way up the staircase when they decided it was safe. 


	2. 2

The three made their way to the bedroom Harry and Ron shared. Harry and Hermione had arrived at Grimmuld Place three weeks earlier to join the rest of the Order. While any break from the Dursleys relieved him, the place reminded him of Sirius. He felt guilty, but he was secretly happy this would be his last night in the house. He and his friends would be returning to Hogwarts tomorrow and things would be able to get back to "normal."  
  
The teenagers merely stared at one another in silence for a few moments, trying to digest what they had heard downstairs. Hermione looked a bit paler than the two boys.   
  
"Wha..What do you think mum meant about V..Vol", started Ron.  
  
"Voldemort." stated Harry plainly, his eyes gazing intently at the floor.  
  
"Thanks. What did she mean about him hurting a muggle?"  
  
"Ron, I should think it would be obvious. He has always had it in for Muggles. I dont see why now, precisely when he is once again gaining power, should be any different. He will kill every last one of us if he gets the chance!" said Hermione forcibly, though the boys noticed her eyes were barely brimming with the tears she was holding back.  
  
"It didnt sound like generalized worrying, Hermione. Mrs.Weasley was perfectly fine before the meeting. Snape has obviously brought them news."  
  
Harry had a sneaking suspicion of what Mrs.Weasley might have been crying about, but he was not going to voice it aloud. He knew Hermione was intelligent, and would be coming to the same conclusions soon, if not already. He was not going to upset her unnecessarily.  
  
"I do not intend to simply stand here and wait for something to happen," said Hermione, in a low, determined voice, "I am going to find out the truth."  
  
"Hermione, how do you expect to do that?", murmured Ron.   
  
"From Snape, obviously," at which Ron gulped for the second time tonight."And though I have not yet devised my plan for how to do so, I will let you know the moment I do, Ronald," she continued, raising her nose slightly in defiance.  
  
"If you will excuse me, I have books to read."  
  
And with that, she exited the room, leaving the boys in her wake, wondering how on earth she would be able to get the necessary information out of their Professor. They were both sure he was not going to give in willingly. And while neither held great affection for the man, they were hoping she wasn't going to try to turture it out of him. It would undoubtedly turn ugly, and they knew Snape would get no greater satisfaction than turning the tables on them. 


	3. 3

From the moment they saw her in the kitchen the next morning, to Platform 9 and 3/4ths, to the Hogwart's Express, to the Great Hall, and right through sorting, the determined look never left Hermione Granger's face. She had spoken little to her two friends. Despite snapping at Ron the night before, they both knew she wasn't mad at them. She was just on a mission, and no one and nothing was going to get in her way. They found her by the fire in the Gryffindor commons after the feast, entirely absorbed in a large book.  
  
Careful not to give her a reason to snap at him again, Ron began uneasily, "Hermione, did you find anything yet?"  
  
"No, and it seems utterly hopeless," she said, sighing heavily, finally releasing all the pent up anxiety that had gathered since the night before."I know exactly what I need, but I just. cant. find. it!" she said, exasperated, and pushed the book away from her.  
  
"Maybe we could help. Perhaps if you started by telling us what you're looking for exactly." said Harry, trying to be helpful.  
  
"Well, we need to find out what he knows, obviously. I started thinking maybe mind control might work..."  
  
Ron chimed in quickly,"Oh! Impervius will work for that!"  
  
"Ugh! We dont want to kill him, Ron!"  
  
"Speak for yourself..." said Ron, ignoring the resultant look from Hermione.  
  
"Besides, I do not wish to be expelled or sent to Azkaban. Which is why we can't use Veritaserum either. Besides, he would remember us questioning him if we did. Which brings me to necessity number two, he must not be able to trace it back to us or know we are doing it or umm something." she looked up and cast an unsure look at both the boys.  
  
"Well, that leaves out Legimency."  
  
"Yes, I thought of that too, Harry, but he would know exactly what we were trying to do. Worse, he could catch on mid-spell and blast us into oblivion."  
  
"I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you, though"  
  
"Yes?" both Ron and Hermion answered in return, eyeing Harry suspiciously.  
  
"Not that it will help us with the current situation. But,Dumbledore approached me after the feast to tell me that he wishes me to resume my Occlumency lessons starting tomorrow," Harry started, "with the greasy git." He finished the last part with a slight growl.  
  
"You better calm down, mate. Can't show up to the lesson like that!" said Ron  
  
"Yes, Harry, even if you did manage a Legimens, you haven't practiced all summer," with this, Hermione eyed him disapprovingly, "and he is more skilled and experienced and ..." Hermione had stopped midsentence and got a strange look on her face. The boys couldn't quite tell what had come over her and shared a questioning glance with each other.  
  
"Everything ok, Hermione?" said Ron, meekly, hoping he hadn't upset her again.  
  
"Ronald Weasley!"  
  
Ron still wasn't sure whether the look and sound of the girl standing across from him was positive or negative.  
  
"I could absolutely kiss you!" and she rushed over to him, grabbing his face between her hands and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. Ron blushed fiercely.  
  
"Care to share the plan?" said Harry, trying to contain a smirk.  
  
"It just came to me right this second, and ... Oh! We have so much planning to do! Hmm, I dont know if we can finish in time. I will need help from the both of you, of course. It is so lucky I picked up that Ehchanting Emotions potions book when I took that trip to France."   
  
Hermione Granger was rambling, and the boys still had no idea how she was going to get the information out of Professor Snape.  
  
"Oh yes, I need to tell you two the plan. Sorry." she said shyly. 


	4. 4

The three scheming Gryffindors had gone over every aspect of the plan in depth that night, before they retired to their beds. After filling them in on the plan, even Ronald Weasley, who usually gulped at the idea of crossing their Potions Master, reverently replied, "Blood brilliant!"  
  
They had roughly 2 hours between dinner and Harry's occulumency lesson with Professor Snape at 8 p.m. that night. It was cutting it close, but there wouldn't be another opportunity for another week. Hermione Granger, despite not having told her two best friends, had been deeply unsettled by the news they overheard at Grimmuld Place and was not about to let this uncertainty go on for another week.  
  
The plan was simple. Hermione would leave dinner early that night and make her way to the Potion Master's classroom. There she would retrieve precisely two dragon scales from her teacher's private storeroom. It was a rare ingredient. But she was certain the accomplished Potions Master would keep some in his stores. He had to. It was the integral part of the plan.  
  
If all went as planned, she would have the scales in her possession before dinner had even ended. But, she needed Ron to distract the man for another full half hour. During that time, she would brew an Infurious Potion in the Potions Classroom. The night before, the three had weighed the other option, brewing it somewhere else in the school, carefully. They, or rather, Hermione, had decided there simply would not be enough time to go elsewhere, brew the potion, and return back to the dungeons to lace the Professor's FireWhiskey with it. Besides, if anyone could accomplish it in the allotted time, it was Hermione Granger. She was probably the only student with experience breaking into Snape's storeroom.  
  
She felt they were taking a chance that he would indeed decide on a drink before the Occlumency lesson. But, he was sure to know, more than anyone, that one must be calm when casting Occlumens and Legimens spells. Further, nothing in the world caused Severous Snape to seethe like being in the same room as Harry Potter. Hermione was counting on it.   
  
He would drink the potion and it would begin to take effect just as the lesson began. Severous would be an easy target for Harry, despite not having practiced all summer. He will have slipped out of his own anger, and Harry would simply be a competent Occlumency student and do what he was supposed to in turn. Snape would be none the wiser that the trio had gained the information they had been seeking the entire time.   
  
Just one hour and one Legimens later, Harry would relate to her exactly what he had seen in the Professor's mind. She would know precisely who the Dark Lord was planning to attack, and if she was lucky, she mused, how and where it would take place as well. 


	5. 5

That night, in the girls dormitory, Hermione Granger was having a difficult time falling asleep. Every time she cleared her mind of thought, readying herself for sleep, her mind made it's way back to Snape. The emotions associated with the thoughts varied, anger over his insistence on keeping this secret from her, desperation to find out what he knew, anxiety over what he would do if any part of their plan failed the next day. Yet, a picture of him with his signature snarl was ingrained in her thoughts that night.   
  
"And what, exactly, are you doing in my classroom, Miss Granger?" Professor Snape spit out.  
  
"I ... I ... I can down to retrieve something I left in the classroom, sir." she returned uneasily.  
  
"I see, Miss Granger." A smirk began to develop on his face, barely covered by his jet-black hair."And what, exactly, did you forget, Miss Granger?"  
  
"My quill, sir." she stammered.  
  
The man slowly began to make his way towards her, "And you came all the way down to the dundgeons for a quill, Miss Granger?"  
  
"Well, you see, sir, I needed it to work on my other homework..."  
  
"Ahh, ever studious, arent we?" he hissed in her ear.  
  
She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable at the lack of distance between them. She knew it was imperative she get out of his classroom before he had time to question her further. If he found out the true reason she was there, she was sure more than a detention would be in her future. She began backing away from him, towards the exit.   
  
When he registered that she was making her escape, he grabbed her forceably the shoulders and pushed her against the nearest wall, making certain the girl wouldn't be going anywhere.  
  
"Do you think me an ignorant man, Miss Granger?"  
  
"Of course not, sir." She was growing increasingly nervous, like a caged animal.  
  
As if her fear was feeding him, he continue."Then why do you insist on lying to me?"  
  
"Sir, I would never lie to you, sir." she squeaked in reply.  
  
"Then, Miss Granger, tell me the reallll reason you are here!" he replied silkily.  
  
"My quill, sir."  
  
"I'm sure, Miss Granger."  
  
The look in his eyes was growing more heated. Hermione was sure he knew what she had been up to. She was sure he would forceably get the information out of her. She was sure he would march her straight to Dumbledore's office. She was sure she would be sent directly to Azkaban.   
  
Caught up in her own thoughts, she barely realized his hands, still gripping her tightly, were moving slowly down her arms. When she did realize, a slight gasp exited her mouth.   
  
"Are you afraid, Miss Granger?"  
  
Trying to muster anger, she replied "No, sir!" yet, it came out more half-heartedly than she had hoped for.  
  
"Ah, a pity, you really should be."  
  
His powerful hands stopped when they reached her wrists. There, he could feel her elevated pulse. It fed him further. Being in power during a situation like this was exhihilarating, dizzying, almost sensual. The situation became even more so when, a moment later, he used his body to push her small frame closer to the wall behind them. Then, slowly, brought his lips down against hers. As shocked as the girl was, she quickly realized what was happening and began to struggle against the overwhelming kiss. He relished in this, the kiss became rough. Him trying to consume her mouth while she twisted her head futilely in every direction to escape.   
  
He finally stopped his kisses, and began to remove his lips. She realized he had finally come to his senses and relief washed over her. She, too, stopped her thrashing, realizing there was no further need. But, apparently, the cunning man had anticipated the girl's reaction, and made use of her inactivity to take a quick, rather rough nip at her reddened, molested lips. A look of horror flashed in her eyes. A small tongue darted out to taste the drop of blood that appeared. His smoldering eyes still had her in their crosshair, watching her reaction to the pain he had inflicted.   
  
A reaction that was not what anyone who knew the girl would have expected. Her eyes squinted in an angry, determined look, and her lips pressed in a thin line. Anger was welling up inside her. She pushed back roughly towards his body, bringing their anatomies ever closer together. With a heated look in her own eye, she kissed her Professor as roughly as he had initially kissed her.  
  
Blood had been drawn and war was clearly declared by both parties.  
  
Hermione woke up with a start from what may have been the most erotic dream she had ever experienced. Certainly her first that had involved a certain faculty member of Hogwarts. Her breathing was shallow and her chest was heaving. She knew her pulse was racing. She wasn't sure what to make of any of it. Clearly, she was in shock. But even she couldn't tell if it was a pleasant shock. 


	6. 6

Hermione Granger woke up the next morning filled with resolve. It didn't matter if she was breaking school and wizarding laws to do so, she would get the information out of Snape. Certain things were just worth breaking the rules for.  
  
It also didn't matter that she had had a fairly erotic dream about said Professor the night before. While a bit distressing, she was a logical witch. She was willing to attribute the whole affair to nerves combined with her concentration on the man before she had fallen asleep. She also didn't have enough time to properly analyze the dream. That would have to wait until after she found out who the Dark Lord was planning to attack which was both more relevant and more important.  
  
The three Gryffindors ate breakfast largely in silence, sobered by the tasks ahead of them. Besides, their first class of the day was Potions and none of them were looking forward to it. They felt a bit uneasy about being confined to the same room with the man they were secretly plotting against. It was if they suspected he would be able to discern their plan simply by looking at them. Nor was that suspicion as far-fetched as one might assume. If Snape had strong enough suspicions, nothing was stopping him from casting a Legimens and dragging it out of them forcibly.  
  
"Ron, have you decided how you will distract Snape yet?" questioned Hermione.  
  
"It will come to me soon enough, not to worry." was managed, his mouth full with toast.  
  
"Ronald Weasley! He is not an ignorant man! You need to keep him busy for thirty minutes. You better come up with something good!" Hermione realized when she had finished, that her words were oddly similar to those the Snape of her dream had used. She tried to physically shake the dream out of her head upon that realization.  
  
"Yes, Ron, I'm betting a few simple items from your brothers' shop won't work either," added Harry.  
  
The three Gryffindors made their way to the dungeons shortly afterwards, dreading the time they would have to spend in the presence of their Potions Master, perhaps even more than Neville usually did. Other students collected outside the classroom and they chatted with the other Gryffindors to pass the time. They did not have to suffer the anticipation of the impending doom for long. Their professor came striding down the hallway, black robes billowing behind him, minutes after they had arrived.  
  
It did not take very long for the students, Slytherin and Gryffindor alike, to realize that the wizard was in one of his worse moods. He had taken 50 points from Gryffindor and even 10 points from Slytherin before the students had begun boiling the ingredients of the particularly difficult potion in their cauldrons.  
  
Hermione had even found it difficult, but had managed precise amounts of ingredients and temperature. The rest of the class was not having such luck. She concentrated on trying to help Neville recover his botched potion before Snape had noticed. On casting a quick look in the direction of Harry and Ron, she noticed Ron's brow was furrowed and Harry's eyes looked nervous. Their nervousness was not without reason, smoke was rising from their cauldron, whose contents were distinctly the wrong color. She was too far away to help them and hoped Snape wouldn't notice before they were able to fix it. She turned back to Neville.  
  
Severous Snape, however, was a man who missed very little. It was also very easy to pick out cauldrons which were smoking. In fact, 5 cauldrons in his classroom were doing so at the moment. One particular cauldron caught his eyes though, the cauldron surrounded by Weasley and Potter. It was too good a chance to pass up, and he was looking forward to pouncing on it.  
  
"Ah, Misters Potter and Weasley, exactly what is this catastrophe you have brewed? I wonder if it is of any use, as I'm quite sure it will not have the desired effect. Perhaps if you throw your robes in there, we will find it is a potent stain remover. But, I doubt we could hope for even that." Snape spat out.Slytherins snickered quickly in response, careful not to do so too loudly and have him turn on them next.  
  
"We followed instructions." returned Harry defiantly.  
  
"Thinking the problem lies in the instructions and not your own incompetence is precisely why you will be showing up in my office tonight for remedial potions. I'm beginning to wonder if it would be wise to require the same of Mr.Weasley in the future."  
  
Both Harry and Ron simmered silently at this comment. They, along with Snape, knew that was only supposed to be a cover story, yet Snape was openly using it to humiliate Harry for the benefit of the Slytherins. And he knew perfectly well that Harry couldn't disagree or set the record straight, as per order of Dumbledore. He had Harry exactly where he wanted him and a smirk came across his face. Satisfied he had made his point to the young man, he whipped around, his black robes following suit with a slight swish of heavy fabric.  
  
As he walked towards the front of the classroom he noticed Hermione Granger had turned around in her seat to watch the confrontation between him and Potter. Instead of wearing the same boiling expression her two comrades had, she had merely cocked her head to one side and was watching his every move intently. He snarled, having hoped all of the trio, the only ones who knew the truth behind the cover, would be equally phased by his jarring words.   
  
The young witch had been taken back by the look in the Potion Master's eyes when he was humiliating Harry. It had been so similar to the look in them when he had been interrogating her about her fictional quill in her dream the night before. Even the smirk afterwards, when he had known he had Harry just where he wanted him, as he known he had had her. She was watching him intently, comparing all his subsequent actions to those in her dream. So intently, in fact, she was not even aware he was now focused on her. Had she been, she would have turned away quickly as other students smartly did.  
  
Deciding she could use putting in her place as much as Potter and Weasley, if not more so, he began his attack on her. "And you, Miss Granger, do you not feel I made an accurate assessment of Mister Potter's and Mister Weasley's work?" The man had positioned her in a corner.  
  
"No, sir, I mean, yes sir, I mean..." she tried, realizing it was a trap and there was simply no good answer to his question. As he moved closer to her, many of the feelings from the dream were rushing back to her. She knew the rest of the dream couldn't possibly ensue. They were in a classroom filled with students. But, she was disconcerted enough to give up the fight and bury her head in her own potion once again, careful to keep her eyes down, hoping he might give up his offensive. The Potions Master was not a man who would give up an offensive that easily. Unfortunately for him, the bell rang, signalling the end of the class, moments later. He ended with a snarl, as he was forced to busy himself overseeing the collection of students' potions, unable to continue with her. 


	7. 7

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley rushed away from dungeons and through the rest of their classes that day. Finally, they were all sitting down to dinner in the Great Hall together.  
  
"You know, Hermione, Trelawney says Venus is in rising or some nonsense. Basically, it means Harry is going to die tonight." said Ron, between mouthfuls.  
  
"Oh, and I suppose it is MY plan that is the cause? Did the Professor prophesize that as well?"  
  
"Well, you know that isn't how seers work, Hermione" smiled back Harry.  
  
"pfff." she shot back."And I suppose when she got to you, Trelawney predicted what your plan to trip up Snape would be, hmmm? I bet it was helpful, as I knooow you haven't come up with your own yet!"  
  
"Hermione! Shocking! You never told us YOU had part seer in you!" Ron responded,playfully aghast.  
  
Hermione just stared back unamusedly, her lips pressed tightly together.  
  
"What Ron is trying to say is that he will indeed be tripping up Snape tonight at the designated time." offered Harry.  
  
"COME OFF IT YOU TWO! I KNOW THAT! YOU STILL HAVEN'T TOLD ME HOW!"  
  
"Hermione, calm down. We're just playing with you. I intend to literally trip him when he starts heading down to the dungeons. Between the crowd that will be attracted outside the Great Hall, the long rant that will follow, and the amount of time Madam Pomfrey will keep the greasey git tied down in her infirmary we'll be all set. Not to mention him having one bugger of a headache." Ron added with a grin.  
  
"Hmph...just try not to hurt him too badly. We still need him to give Harry his lesson."  
  
That was Hermione's way of conceding that it was a good plan and the boys knew that. The trio kept mostly silent after that. Not because they were nervous, though they were. But, because Hermione was rapidly trying to finish her dinner. She had to leave in the next few minutes to stay on schedule. The boys would have longer to sit at the Gryffindor table and finish eating. But, they didn't want to bother her with small talk about Quidditch, so they too remained silent. One giant sip of pumpkin juice later, and she was ready to go. The three wished each other luck and with a small nod, she was walking towards the exit.  
  
At the staff table, Severus Snape saw a mass of bushy brown hair walking towards the exit. "Granger!" he growled a bit too loudly.   
  
"Whatdya say, Professor?" asked Hagrid genially.  
  
"Nothing" he snarled back.  
  
This was his chance to finish tearing the know-it-all to shreds. He was so unpleasantly disrupted from his objective earlier. He rose, making his excuses to the others at the staff table. And headed towards the exit as well.  
  
Ron was poked sharply in the ribs in the middle of a sip of pumpkin juice, causing him to spit half of it out.   
  
"What'd you do that for??"  
  
"Look." and Harry turned to look in the direction of their Potions Master who was making his way towards the exit.  
  
"You go take your place, and be ready!" and with that, Harry jumped up, making his way towards Professor Snape.  
  
"Excuse me, Professor." Snape whirled upon hearing his name.  
  
"Potter." he sneered out.  
  
"I was wondering where I should meet you tonight for our lesson,sir?"  
  
"Potter, you constantly amaze me with how dim-witted you are." and with a voice no louder than a whisper, he added, "It confounds me that the Headmaster still puts all his faith in you defeating the Dark Lord!"   
  
Harry's eyes squinted in anger. He wouldn't take this for anyone besides Hermione. "The Headmaster never mentioned where the lesson would take place." he returned.  
  
"Precisely where they took place last year, in my office! If you'll excuse me Potter, I was going somewhere before you interrupted me!"  
  
Harry thought quickly, he knew every minute spent stalling Snape would give Hermione an advantage. "Sir, one more thing?"  
  
"WHAT POTTER?" The Professor was livid.  
  
"What time is the lesson again?" Harry looked to the ground, expecting the man to do something positively awful to him.  
  
"Potter, You can not remember even the simplest of information! Eight P.m. Sharp. And I will look forward to the tutoring tonight." He left nothing to be imagined about his intentions on torturing Harry later that night. He turned and made his way towards the exit before the boy could interrupt him again.  
  
Five minutes earlier, Ron Weasley had ran out the exit of the Great Hall expecting to take his place near the stairs to the dungeon, ready to delay Professor Snape. What he saw surprised him, Hermione Granger standing in front of him, looking ready to jump out of her skin, while Professor Binns drawled away. Ron ran right over to them and grabbed the girl by the arm, tugging hard.  
  
"Sorry Professor, Hermione promised to help me with an essay on Elf Riots."   
  
"Ahh, of course, fascinating subject, Elf Riots, It all began when ..." ready to give them a long account,before he realized the two were already whizzing past him.  
  
"Why in the bloody hell aren't you in the dungeons brewing the potion?!" Ron barely squeaked out.  
  
"The old codger cornered me and began a long discussion about one of my essays.What was I supposed to do? He wouldn't let me get away. He obviously didn't need to get to dinner, being a ghost and all."  
  
"Well you better run, Snape is on his way!"  
  
"What! Its so early!" her eyes widened. She didn't listen to anything more Ron had to say. She ran down to the dungeons as fast as her feet could carry her. 


	8. 8

Hermione Granger had entered the darkened Potions classroom with a quick "Alohmora!" Immediately, the room's candles began lighting themselves, as if sensing her presence.   
  
"Knowing that bat, I certainly hoping nothing else in the classroom was set to go on, or off, upon entrance..." she spoke aloud though meant mainly for herself.  
  
She made her way to the Professor's private storeroom, hoping that too would open with a simple Alohmora.  
  
Meanwhile, above her head, Professor Severus Snape was billowing out of the Great Hall. There was still a few moments left of dinner and the halls were still relatively free. He looked in each direction, noting Miss Granger was nowhere to be found. He snarled.   
  
"Lucky girl." he muttered.  
  
"What was that, Professor?" returned Professor Binns.  
  
Severus was unhappy to have been overheard, and even unhappier to learn who had done the overhearing. He was in no mood for a long-winded conversation with the ghost.  
  
"Ah, yes, Professor Binns, I was merely in search of the ever-knowledgeable Miss Granger, I saw her walk out of the Great Hall only moments ago." he said absently, still searching the halls hoping she had not truly gotten away.  
  
"Miss Granger, such a bright young witch!"  
  
"I'm sure," responded Snape, now eager to get away from the ghost who was grating on his nerves.  
  
"I'll you'll excuse me Professor," said the dark man, turning to make his exit.  
  
"She just ran off a moment ago with young Mr. Weasle," returned the ghost.  
  
At this, Snapes ears perked up and he turned around slowly, raising his eyebrows at the unexpected information,"Did she?"  
  
"Yes, the girl has kindly offered to help him with his essay on elf riots."  
  
"More like doing it for him," muttered Snape under his breath, softly enough so the other Professor could not hear him.  
  
"Did you happen to see in which direction they went?"  
  
"That way, if I recall."   
  
Snape looked in the direction of the ghost's outstretched finger. A smirk grew on his face. And with an overly polite "Thank you Professor," Snape was off in the direction of the dungeons.   
  
He knew it was very unlikely the two would be working on any essay in the dungeons.  
  
'Probably snogging in an empty classroom or some such nonsense, expecting no one will come upon them down here.' His day was getting better by the minute. Nothing elated the man more than catching Gryffindors breaking rules. 'I doubt I'm lucky enough for a ménage a trois.' he joked darkly. Catching Potter up to no good would almost make up for having to deal with him later that night.   
  
The man had been so involved in his thoughts of catching Gryffindors that he did not even notice a mass of red hair on a collision course with himself as he rounded the corner. His reflexes took over as he felt himself collide with another body, however, and grabbed with both hands onto the offenders robes close to the neck. This, however, was not enough to prevent himself from falling over from the force of the collision. And his tight grip did little to help, in fact, it merely assured Ron fell along with him.   
  
Two dull thuds later, Ron was lying on the stone castle floor, rubbing his head gingerly. He pretended to notice who it was he had run into for the first time and moaned.   
  
"Err, sorry Professor Snape, I didn't see you coming around the corner," said the boy weakly.  
  
Snape was quickly getting to his feet, ready to attack.   
  
He began bellowing, "YOU DUNDERHEADED DISGRACE OF PUREBLOOD!"  
  
Dinner had ended and students began gathering around the scene as they heard the yelling. It was almost a treat for the students to watch the man yell at another student. After all, the games in the coliseum had been popular in their day...  
  
Snape stopped his offensive for a moment, trying to clear his head and think logically. Something funny was going on, he knew that, but his newly developing headache was preventing him from seeing it. He realized that it puzzled him to have come upon Weasley when he hadn't gotten as far as the dungeons. He had been searching for Granger and the boy. And, now, Granger was no where to be seen. It stuck the man as strange indeed. Suspicions were swirling in his head.   
  
He knew the boy was no match for him and decided perform an experiment to test his hypothesis. He turned towards the direction he had previously been walking in, as if making to leave. Students physically jumped at this and parted to make room for him to pass.   
  
Ronald Weasley jumped to his feet, still a bit wobbly. "Um, Sir, perhaps we should both get checked out by Madam Pomfrey first?"  
  
Snape twirled easily to face him again, a smirk appearing. "Mr.Weasley, I am struck by your caring!" he turned dark instantly, "Obviously, you have a concussion. Crab. Goyle. Come here immediately."   
  
The Potions Master had noticed his two Slytherins in the crowd before he had turned and knew they would come in handy. The two stepped forward.  
  
He spoke quickly,"Mr. Weasley is not well. I fear he has a concussion. Please escort the boy to the infirmary." He added, "I do believe force will be necessary as he has a concussion and will not be acting in his right mind." The two boys looked at one another happily and then to Ron, who was merely gaping at what the situation had become. They got close to him and grabbed him firmly by the shoulders before forceably turning him in the direction of the infirmary and walking off with him before he even had a chance to protest.  
  
Snape rounded, once again, and was off to the dungeons. This time, however, he was headed to his classroom, instead of in search of Hermione Granger. However, he had a good idea that he would be led to the girl anyway. 


	9. 9

With a swish of her wand, a young witch had access to one of the most comprehensive potions storerooms in Britain, if not the world. Her eyes went wide, trying to take it all in. She had been there before, but knowing she actually had time to browse was exciting.  
  
"Hermione Granger, you do NOT have time to browse! People are counting on you." She let out a sigh in response to her own self admonishments.  
  
She continued searching the dusty shelves and bottles for what she needed. The entire plan rested on precisely two dragon scales. If Professor Snape didn't have them, she had no recourse left, she would have to give up. Out of the corner of her eye, a jar which contained a fiery red substance caught her eye. She moved towards it, careful not to knock anything over in the cramped storeroom. She looked closely at the browning label.  
  
"Of course. Never should have doubted he would have it!," she giggled."This is far too easy. I would at least have expected tougher wards after last time."  
  
As she turned to leave the storeroom, she saw it. The door hadn't closed, but there was certainly a large black object housed in the doorframe, preventing her from leaving. Her eyes began to survey the object from the floor up, dreading what she would find as they moved higher. A cold voice saved her the trouble of the discovery.  
  
"Far too easy indeed, Miss Granger."  
  
Her eyes shot up to his face, trying to discern from his eyes how long she would have before he hexed her. She slowly moved her arms from her sides to behind her back, trying to cover up which jar she had taken. The young witch didn't remove her eyes from his while she did this, hoping to distract him from noticing.  
  
Never breaking her gaze, he snarled. "If you do not remove those arms from behind your back, I will hex them into tentacles."  
  
She made no move. He reached within his robes and had his wand out and pointed at her in a flash.  
  
Her eyes went wide with fear. She had no doubt he would do it. She was caught. She moved the arms out in front of her resignedly.  
  
"What do we have here?" he spoke silkily as his long fingers reached to take the jar from her small hands. He surveyed the label. When he had finished he deepend his snarl.   
  
"And not the first time you have broken in either! And what, Miss Granger, do you plan to do with the ingredients you have been amassing from my storeroom?" he raised an eyebrow at the poor girl.  
  
"But, sir, I'm not ..." she spoke meekly. She knew the situation was dissolving into something much worse.  
  
"Miss Granger, what are the properties of dragon scales?" he spoke dangerously, letting her know it wouldn't be wise not to answer.  
  
Addressing the floor, she said, "To heat the blood, sir."  
  
"Very good Miss Granger, I'm almost tempted to award points to Gryffindor." he spat back in reply. "Knowing so much about them, you also must know that nearly all the potions they are used in are associated with the Dark Arts."  
  
"No, sir!" she cried. She knew the conclusions he was jumping to and she had to stop him if she had any hope of not being sent to Azkaban tonight. She knew he would have no qualms about sending her there either, she just hoped she would get a chance to speak to someone reasonable before she was shipped off. Dumbledore or McGonagall would understand, she knew they would. Or, at least, they would take pity on her.  
  
Both Severus Snape and Hermione Granger were startled from their reflective moment by thundering footsteps coming from the hall outside the classroom. In one graceful movement, the Potions Master stepped backwards, out of the frame of the door and into the classroom. With a flick of his wand, the door to the storeroom slammed shut and was silenced. The girl's last hope of being saved was dashed as darkness closed in around her.  
  
Harry Potter rushed into the Potions Classroom to find his Professor standing next to his desk, depositing something into a drawer.  
  
Without looking up, the man began harshly, "Your lesson, Mister Potter is not for another hour! Further, it is held in my office. I am at a loss as to why you would show up here, now." a small dark smirk was forming on the Potions Master's lips. Not enough to give away what he had captured in his storeroom, but enough to show Potter he was caught.  
  
"Uh, sir, I heard about what happened between you and Ron upstairs." said Harry dumbly.  
  
"Of course, Potter, I should have known you would come down here to check on me personally. But, as you mention, I did have a run-in with that blithering friend of yours, Mister Weasley. I am developing a headache as a result. I fear I must cancel our lesson tonight." said the wizard silkily. He knew he had Potter when the boy's eyes went wide.   
  
"Leave. NOW!" he bellowed, making sure the boy wouldn't be able to get in another word.  
  
Harry Potter ran out of the classroom towards the Gryffindor common room. He could only hope Hermione was sitting there, defeated, because the alternative was grim.  
  
Severus Snape watched as the boy flew out the door with distain. He quickly warded the door to the classroom, casting another silencing charm. Nothing would interrupt his interrogation again. He twirled and made his way back to the storeroom, with a short stop at his desk to retrieve a jar. 


	10. 10

Hermione Granger was unable to manage even a gasp after the storeroom's door was thrown wide before she heard him, in a low silky voice, announce "Legilimens!"  
  
The witch felt her thoughts swirling around her as if they were tangible objects. She was distinctly aware that there was an unwelcome presence in her mind as well. Professor Snape was breaking into her mind, and she could do nothing to stop him. The swirling slowed and images were now discernable to both viewers.  
  
Harry, Ron, and herself had their backs against the wall of the stairs in Grimmauld Place as Mrs.Weasley sobbingly left the room where other members of the Order were congregated.  
  
The trio was in Harry and Ron's bedroom, where a pale Hermione spoke in a low, determined voice, "I am going to find out the truth."   
  
She saw herself, explaining to Ron and Harry how Ron would distract Snape from reaching the dungeons, where she would brew an Infurious Potion and lace his FireWhiskey. How Harry would complete the plan by casting a Legilimens on the seething Potions Master, who would be unable to block it.   
  
She was opening the door to the storeroom. She searched for the desired jar with bright eyes, that finally landed on one which contained dragon scales, fiery and red.   
  
She prepared for the images to stop their assault. He knew the truth now, there was nothing she could do. Hermione tried to groan, but wasn't completely sure whether she had made any sound. Her entire body and mind felt alien, as if they were no longer her own. They certainly weren't complying. She realized a new scene was springing forth from the cyclone that was her memories.  
  
As she thought,'He can't! He got what he was after!' she heard her own words echoing all around her.  
  
She was in the girl's bathroom, brewing the Polyjuice potion.  
  
She was sneaking into the Restricted Section of the library with Harry and Ron, hidden under Harry's invisibility cloak.   
  
She was being kissed on the cheek by Viktor Krum.  
  
She was dumbly telling Professor Snape that she had left her quill in his classroom and that she had come to retrieve it.  
  
Her own voice screaming, 'No, I will not let him see this!' seemed to be bouncing off invisible walls and assaulted her ears from every direction. She tried to close off her mind. She tried to recall any memory besides the one which was playing out in front of her. It seemed to be working, as the scene from her dream hung in front of her for a moment, frozen, as if it was a remarkably life-like painting. She felt the memory pushing back against her attempt to stop it, seemingly of it's own volition. And then, like water from behind a collapsing dam, the rest cascaded forward. She was licking a drop of blood from her lips. And with fury and passion she pressed her body into his and kissed her Professor back.  
  
The sound of her own crying brought Hermione Granger back to her senses. Images were no longer swirling in front of her. In fact, she was distinctly aware of nothing but blackness. She slowly opened her eyelids, realizing she once again had control over both her body and mind. She was struck by the fact that she was in a heap on the cold stone floor. Still a bit unsure as to whether or not this was real. She tried to raise herself from the floor, finding her legs responded easily.  
  
"How very lucky that the rest of me has no recollection of the ambush" she mused.  
  
"That is because, Miss Granger, I violated your mind, not your body." replied Severus Snape, coolly. "Though, it seems I did just that in the last memory."  
  
Hermione Granger momentarily forget that she was fearing be sent to Azkaban. Redness rushed to her face as she flushed with anger. "You vile, loathsome man!"  
  
"So easily you forget, Miss Granger, that I am the injured party. You have stolen from my stores not once, but twice. You have eavesdropped on sensitive information I gave to the Order. And, you devised a rather intricate plan for extracting more information from my mind tonight. A very Slytherin-like plan, if I might add."  
  
Despite his overuse of her surname reminding her of her place and the situation, she glared back at him, hatefully undaunted.  
  
"You had no right to go further once you got what you needed!"  
  
He waved off her words with a smirk, "As I was interrogating one suspected of brewing Dark Potions, I had EVERY right. I was looking for further evidence. And as I heard you mention this was not the first time you found yourself in my storeroom, I felt I was duty bound to discover what else you had brewed. Do not worry though, I do believe a botched Polyjuice Potion was adequate punishment for that particular indiscretion."   
  
Hermione's nails were puncturing the skin of her palms as she tightly balled her fists at her sides. Listening to him calmly relate what he had seen in the personal recesses of her mind was infuriating.  
  
"Miss Granger, I suggest you relax your fists before you draw blood. I can assure you, no one will be licking the blood from them in this classroom tonight."  
  
The young witch had had enough. She rushed at him, fists flying, ready to inflict whatever pain she could manage before he was able to summon Slytherins, Dumbledore, Aurors, or whoever else he could to pull her off him. 


End file.
